Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-08-19

The First il The Valley.
THE FIRST VALLEY MEE1INd
OF THE FARMERS HELD
IN ROCKINGHAM.
SPEECHES OF ROBERT BEVERLEY AMI
CHARLES GRATTAN-THE RAILROADS
AND CORPORATIONS AND LEGISLATIVE
BODIES CATCH IT-NO THIRD PARTY
CONTEMPLATED.
&C. &C., &C.
Reported for the Staunton VINDIcAToR.
HARRIsoNBURG, Aug. To-.
To-day the farmers of Rockingham net
at the courthouse to hear addresses from
invited speakers.
Major George Chrisman, the noted
short-horn breeder. took the chair. called
the meeting to order, and introduced Col
Robert Beverley. the President OF the
Farmers National Congress and OF the
Farmers Assembly of Virginia, who spoke
for an hour, detailing in graphic man
near the grievances of the Farmers, both
under State and Federal legislation. He
first spoke of the Agricultural Bureau
and the efforts 10 obtain it, and how,
after long and persistent effort it had
passed the House. 1t had been for four
years defeated in the Senate, which he
denominated as the American House of
Lords. He commented on the fact that
IN THE WHOLE SENATE THERE WAS
BUT ONE FARMER,
and out of the 800 representative in the
lower house only 20 farmers. and that in
country where they number over SO per
cent.
He then spoke of the Signal service, de-
feated time and again by the same SEN
ate, though demanded by the people, and
sho wed clearly that it's cost would have
been more than paid by the orange crop Of
Florida lost from frost; by the tobacco
crop of Virginia and Kentucky, and the
hay crop Of the whole country, for
lack of day or two's warning.
He spoke OF the Bill to eradicate diseases
in stock. and the difficulties attending an
appropriation for so needful an object.
He commented on the fact that under
our Federal banking laws
THE LAND OF THE AGRICULTU-
RALIST,
bis only capital, cannot be utilized to give
him credit SO az to borrow money, which
he needs, to make that same land avail
able.
He advocated the abolition of the inter-
nal revenue system. and especially the TO-
bacco and the fruit brandy features.
He criticised the parsimony of the State
legislature in its dealings with our agri-
cultural Department.; spoke OF the imposi-
ton the farmers labored under in the fact
that their fertilizers were not analysed;
that Federal Hill had been ieveled with
the ground to sand the lands Of Virginia.
because we did not have the means to de-
tect the cheats and that, too, when IS per
cent. of the voting population of Virginia
were farmers, or interested in farming.
ana they paid so per cent of the taxes.
He urged organization as the remedy,
and that the
FARMERS WHILE HOLDING FAST TO
THEIR OWN PARTY ORGANIZATION,
should see to it that the nominees Of the
two parties should be men pledged to sus-
tain the farming interest.
MIR. CHARLES GRATTAN
was then called for, and spoke for an hour
and quarter, taking the ground that the
stagnation in the farming interests was
due to tariff that increased the value of
all the farmer wanted to buy and closed
the market on all he wanted to sell, and
Secondly. to the unjust discrimination
of railroads, against the Eastern in favor
of the Western farmer; that this in the
first place prevented immigration, and in
that way reduced the price of our lands
and encouraged emigration for the same
reason. since it brought the cheap and
fertile lands of the West nearer market
Than our own. God placed us in sight Of
the sea; Monopoly removed us beyond the
Rocky Mountains. $50 West young
man." from the railroad standpoint, was
the height of wisdom, since the farther
you went West-the farther you came
East.
He showed by railroad statistics that
the tax on 200 acre farm, over and above
fair and equal transportation rates, was
$3.50 or
FIVE TIMES THE STATE TAX,
that this was taxation without represen.
tation for the benefit Of a class-a very
small cass and they foreigners.
He showed that instead of reducing To-
Cal rates they had increased them, and by
his own personal experience proved that
if the same rate was charged the Missouri
farmer, as was charged him in shipping to
market, that it would cost him $3.50 per
bushel to carry bis grain to the seasAore.
The remedy he proposed was organiza-
tion, and following in the wake of Col.
Beverley-he most unequivocauy denounc-
ed the idea of third party and urged
Democrats and Republicans to fight this
fight under their own banners. and each to
see that the nominees of their parties were
pledged to do what was demanded by the
farmers.
He advocated as the best that could now
be done, the passage of law similar to
the Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi
laws, appointing a commission and cloth
ing that commission with power to fix
freights, sc. This had worked we'll in
Georgia, as seen from the reports,
THE RATES HAVING BEEN REDUCED
NEARLY so PER CENT,
and the railroads realizing from II to IA
per cent. on the outlay of construction and